| Educational
Modeling Exchange |
The Creative Learning Exchange announces the establishment of
the Educational Modeling Exchange (EME) to help nurture an active,
collaborative, and growing “community” of educators
using system dynamics. Building on the CLE’s successful outreach
to a large and varied audience, the EME seeks
- to refine and expand the size and scope of the CLE library
of “exemplary” curricula
and organizational programs,
- to enhance teachers’ and administrators’ skills
in applying existing materials (models, units, curricular materials)
or in building and applying new ones
- to utilize existing and
newly created networks to pursue new funding for more
ambitious goals.
With start-up support from Allen Boorstein of
Amber Blocks and
Jay Forrester of MIT, the Educational Modeling
Exchange will be co-directed by Dr. John Heinbokel and Dr.
Jeff Potash who should be
familiar names to many readers of the CLExchange. They are educators
with over three decades of combined experience using system dynamics
in developing software (MSST and
Demo Dozen), designing and offering
workshops and other training opportunities for teachers and administrators,
and experimenting with interdisciplinary curricular applications
with and for middle-school, high-school, and college students (focusing
on such disparate topics as the impact of disease on human history,
sustainability, population and food dynamics, and personal finance).
This “academic odd-couple” (oceanographer and religious
historian) brings a wealth of ideas for pursuing new research,
supporting enhanced networking, and providing “service” to
meet the needs of a growing and evolving educational community.
Much of Jeff’s and John’s focus in the immediate future
will be on identifying opportunities for current educational practitioners
to enhance and apply their personal skills and to leverage those
efforts to strengthen and expand the application of system dynamics
in education. They will be describing those efforts in future editions
of the newsletter and on the K-12
listserve.
Jeff and John welcome the opportunity to discuss with you any
modeling questions or ideas you have for enhancing our shared vision
for a vibrant and growing community of educators using system dynamics.
“
There is very little we can “DO” on our own in the
EME; expect that we will be contacting you to solicit ideas, feedback,
and assistance on the initiatives we’ll be exploring and
pursuing.” (from Jeff and John)
You can contact them through the CLE: heinbokelj@clexchange.org or potashj@clexchange.org or
just ask a question on the list (k-12sd@sysdyn.clexchange.org).
|
